Disaster and Healing
by Silverado17
Summary: The third installment in a series that started with 'Surprising Things in Unlikely Places'. What happens when Nathaniel decides he's entitled to Harry and his daughter? Will anyone be safe? There may or may not be a little bit of Nathaniel finally getting what he truly deserves. Sorry for bad title and summary. Snarry. Alpha/beta/omega dynamics. A little Wolfstar. M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: I almost never do this, but I have decided to start posting this story despite the fact that I have not completely finished it yet. I do know exactly what I'm doing with it and I've completed over12,000 words so I think I should be able to make sure my writing keeps up with my posting. I really hope you enjoy this first chapter.  
I will say one thing about this installment of this series: it's a little more heavy on the a/b/o dynamics area. The typical elements of those dynamics weren't very prevalent in my previous two installments, but those elements are a bit denser here, so be warned.  
Something I'd like to add that is specific to this chapter: there is some information that isn't necessarily important to the plot of this story that I've added as a sort of footnote to this chapter. I highly recommend you take the time to read that._**

 ** _If you have not read_ Surprising Things in Unlikely Places _, go back and read that before you read this as this will make a lot more sense. I also recommend reading_ Delightful Surprises _although it is less necessary._  
**

 ** _Warning: Kidnapping and attempted rape as well as the return of a character everyone strongly dislikes if not hates (I hope)._**

* * *

The birth of the Boy-Who-Lived's daughter made the headlines in the _Prophet_. It was no less than what Harry and Severus expected, so they took it in stride. It never occurred to either of them just how far the article of their happy day reached.

Nathaniel wasn't up to much these days. It was now impossible for him to get a date anymore, thanks to _that omega_. He had become quite bitter now and spent a large percentage of his time in a pub in Italy , because at least then some people didn't recognize him. Anyone who ever did recognize him would send him a sneer – if they were being nice. He noticed a leftover newspaper on the table next to him and was about to continue his typical surveying of the room when something on the front page caught his eye. He went to pick it up, and what he found shocked him. Harry'd had a pup recently.

 _That bitch_ , he thought. _How could he do this? After all I did to try and give him pups, he goes and he has one with someone else._ In that moment, a plan started forming in Nathaniel's mind. He didn't recognize the small, niggling thought at first – he was too busy fuming – but it wouldn't be long until the idea had started forming.

A week after Nathaniel had seen the article in the paper, he had finally caught on to that thought. He felt he had a right to Harry's child. He'd been the omega's first mate, and you never truly forget or move on from your first mate, and he couldn't help but think that after all the times he'd tried to breed the bitch, surely there was something of him in that pup. Harry had no right to hold out on him like that, because it certainly wasn't Nathaniel's fault they'd never conceived.

The only problem was the pup's age. He'd never wanted any part of newborn pups. At that stage, they were good for nothing but keeping you up at night and stinking. With that in mind, he decided to wait. He would get what he deserved, though.

* * *

Four years passed, and Nathaniel finally thought the time was right to put his plan into action. No one would ever see this coming. He'd been keeping an eye on the household for years, and he knew exactly when he would need to act - when they would be the most defenseless and unaware. They were always the busiest in the morning, with the two adults getting ready and the girl sleeping. He'd already done checks on the wards, and they weren't very strong, to his surprise. Perhaps they hadn't thought they'd need them now that the obvious threats were all gone.

He apparated directly into the pup's room. She was sleeping, as he had expected, but nonetheless he poured some dreamless sleep potion down her throat to insure she wouldn't wake as he moved her. Then he waited. The omega would be coming into the room in no more than 15 minutes. He made sure he was prepared, mentally reviewing the moves he would make as he waited.

When the omega did come into the room, Nathaniel quickly put up silencing charms before he stepped out of hiding, holding the pup to his chest. "Long time no see," he said smugly.

Harry froze when he saw _him_ in his daughter's room, with his daughter held at wand-point. "What do you want?" he demanded vehemently, pushing past the fear he felt.

"You, to come with me," Nathaniel said. He'd determined that he wanted to take the omega with him too – after all, he was an alpha and as such had no idea how to care for a pup because that was the role of an omega in the relationship.

"That's never going to happen," Harry said.

"Oh, but it is," Nathaniel said.

"I thought you didn't want me," Harry countered.

"Plans change. I'm just getting what's coming to me," insisted Nathaniel.

"You're certainly going to get what's coming to you," Harry replied, drawing his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Nathaniel shouted, managing to take Harry by surprise. He let the omega's wand fall where it would. "Now, you can either come willingly, or I can force you. I like both options, so I'll let you decide."

Harry had come a long way in his healing since his days with Nathaniel, but that didn't mean he wasn't getting nervous being in the alpha's presence. He knew that as he was unarmed now his hope lay in Severus, so he rushed to the door that had been closed behind him. "Have it your way," he heard behind him, before he felt a stunning spell hit him, and then everything turned black.

* * *

Severus was waiting in the kitchen to eat breakfast with Harry and Ivy. It had been a long time since Harry had gone to wake their daughter, though, and he was getting worried. Something was definitely _wrong_ in that moment. With a sudden surge of determination, he moved to his daughter's room. What he found there made his heart stop. Lying on the ground was Harry's wand, and lying on the pillow of Ivy's bed was a note, and he somehow knew that it would contain nothing but bad news.

Severus lifted the note off the bed with a shaky hand. Taking a deep breath, he unfolded it and began to read the note that had been written.

 _Dear Mr. Severus Snape,_

 _I'm sure you know who I am – as whiny as Harry is, he's likely complained to you several times about me. I thought it was only fair to inform you of where two members of your household have gone. I've taken the omega and the pup with me, and you will never see them again. I will keep them with me, where they both belong. Do not come looking for them, or I will bring their lives to an abrupt end. You would be wise to count your losses and move on from this, for I am not easy to fight._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Nathaniel Morgan_

 _P.S. The bitch will pay for bearing another alpha's pup, and I hope you will keep that in mind over the next few weeks as you try to forget._

Severus felt his blood go cold. Harry had been taken. That was not acceptable. He needed to find this Nathaniel and make him rue the day he began to manipulate Harry. He would need to be careful though, because he wouldn't live with the deaths of his family on his conscience anymore than he would live with letting them be taken from him. He would need reinforcements.

Gradually, the weight of the situation began to fall on him. His mate had been taken from right under his nose, and he had not been aware enough to stop it. If he had just put up better wards to begin with, or heard something, or realized something, he could have stopped it and then Harry and Ivy would be safe with him. But no, he had been sitting at the breakfast table for Merlin knows how long after they had been taken, enjoying his morning cup of coffee, oblivious to the now obvious dangers to his family. They were gone, and it was all because he hadn't stopped the soon-to-be-dead alpha.

* * *

Remus woke up to a cold bed, and he was immediately in a bad mood. The one thing he hated most in the mornings was waking up without Sirius by his side. He just felt _wrong_ without his mate there – lost, almost. It was still a miracle that he'd made it through the time Sirius spent in prison because of _Peter_. Now in a worse mood, Remus used the bathroom before going to search out where Sirius was.

To Remus's further annoyance, he found a note propped up on the kitchen table.

 _Remy,_

 _Sorry I left you alone in bed, but I hated to wake you up so early when the Moon was just four days ago and you're still catching up on your rest – whether you're willing to admit it or not. The Ministry is trying to get too big for their britches again and it was borderline urgent so I had to leave at 6:00 this morning. I will be back as soon as I can, love. If you need anything, you know how to reach me. I promise I will make this up to you, because I do know how much you utterly despise sleeping alone. I love you with all my being._

 _Love,_

 _Your Siri_

Remus sighed. Okay, so Sirius did have a good reason, but that still didn't make him happy with his mate. Sirius did know how much Remus hated being in the bed alone, because nights had been some of the worst parts for Remus while Sirius had been imprisoned. He and Sirius had talked about it in-depth one night, though probably not as soon as they should have…

* * *

 _Sirius was out late one night, which was a bit unusual. After Harry went to bed at 11:30, Remus had decided he had better at least try and sleep. He went to his room and began undressing before laying down – on the side Sirius normally slept on because the smell comforted Remus. He might have been laying there for 10 minutes when he began to have some negative thoughts. There was a reason he hated sleeping alone – a reason he'd never shared with Sirius despite his better judgment._

 _After 45 minutes of nearly unbearable thoughts, Remus had to get out of bed. This reminded him too much of something else from the past. Throwing on a robe – he wasn't even sure whose it was – he went down to the library to wait for Sirius to come back. There was nothing like books to take his mind off of things…_

 _When Sirius came home that night, he went to the bedroom he shared with his mate, and was surprised to find it empty. Remus rarely stayed up this late, especially the day before the full moon. Worried, Sirius began looking for Remus, not finding him until he thought to enter the library. There he found his mate sitting by the fire, a book in hand, and a faraway look in his eyes._

 _"_ _Remy?" Sirius asked quietly._

 _"_ _You're home," Remus said, sounding oddly relieved to see him._

 _"_ _Yeah. I'm sorry I stayed out too late. I meant to come home at least an hour before midnight, but then Tonks and I got to talking, and you know how she can be sometimes… You know, you didn't have to wait up for me._

 _Remus only nodded. He then stood, put his book down – very gently – and walked over to Sirius, wrapping his arms around the other man's middle and quite obviously breathing in his scent._

 _"_ _Are you alright, Remus?" Sirius asked. Now that he was in close proximity with his omega, he could_ smell _the anxiety coming off him. It took extremely strong emotions to give off scent like Remus was doing, and Sirius rarely smelled any negative ones on Remus._

 _Again, Remus stayed silent. He was a little spooked, to be honest. He knew he hated sleeping alone, and Sirius was getting an inkling of that fact, but he'd never before felt anything like he had earlier that night. At least, not since Sirius had been returned to him legally 5 months ago. He just needed to bask in his alpha's presence for a little while longer, and then he would be okay._

 _Sirius was beyond worried now. Remus had said two words since he'd come home, and that wasn't normal. It wasn't normal for Remus to hug him like this out of nowhere either – not that they weren't affectionate with each other or anything. "Remus, talk to me, love," Sirius pleaded._

 _Taking one more deep breath, Remus moved to the couch that was in the room, refusing to let go of Sirius's hand even as they sat down together with Remus leaning back against Sirius as he often did. "I don't know where to start," Remus said. Sirius stayed silent, knowing that it would do no good to talk; Remus needed a few moments to translate his words into thoughts. That alone was a testament to how shaken up the man was. "I don't know how much you've realized, but I have a bit of a problem when it comes to sleeping alone," Remus began. Sirius had noticed that Remus rarely went to bed by himself, which was a new thing because when they had first been mated, it had never bothered Remus to go on to sleep if Sirius wasn't quite tired yet. Sirius still didn't say anything because Remus had only paused for breath, not a reply. "Normally, if you come to bed within 5 minutes of me laying down, it's not a problem, but when I went to bed tonight, I started getting spooked after about 10 minutes, and I tried to wait it out until I could fall asleep, but then it just got worse and I finally just had to get out of bed."_

 _"_ _I had no idea," Sirius said. "I noticed you always seemed to relax a little more after I got into bed with you, on the nights when you went to bed first, but I never realized it was really a problem for you or I would have made more of an effort to get home before too late. I'm sorry Remy," Sirius said, placing a gentle kiss in his mate's hair. "Is there any particular reason you have so much trouble going to sleep by yourself? Does it have something to do with Moony?"_

 _"_ _It's not Moony," Remus said. "Before I try to explain this, please know that it's not your fault at all."_

 _"_ _Alright," Sirius said, not completely sure he wouldn't blame himself anyway.  
_

 _"_ _I never had a problem with this before, but then they arrested you and that's when nighttime got really bad for me. The nights I didn't have trouble sleeping were few and far between. I'd lay in bed, and the darkness and the silence would make me start to think about things. It was always weird to be unable to hear you breathing next to me, not to feel you laying with me. It would always remind me of where you were. I would start to fret about you, to worry about what they might be doing to you. I had no idea if you were hurting or not, or if I would ever get you back, or what the Dementors might be making you relive. I couldn't bear the thought of you going through all that. And after losing our pup, I'd think about what might have been with them, where things could have gone. Sometimes I'd think about Peter, and how much I loathed him for framing you. Then there were a few times when I would start to wonder if maybe they were all right. Everyone told me I was crazy for thinking you were innocent, for accusing the man you'd supposedly killed of the crimes you were accused of by the Ministry. Sometimes I began to fear I really was going mad._

 _"_ _I could handle the daytime. There are always times during the day when you're alone, even when you do have a mate, so I was normally able to distract myself during the day. I would try to do enough activities to wear me out, so that I would be exhausted enough to pass out at the end of the day, but I rarely succeeded. Something about trying to sleep alone just wouldn't let me forget where you were. Maybe if they hadn't severed our bond it would have been okay, because at least I could have had a hope of reaching out to you since I wasn't allowed to see you. I don't know. Trying to sleep by myself now still just tears me apart, though. It reminds me of those nights and it just_ hurts _._

 _"_ _Oh, Remy," Sirius said, holding the werewolf closer. He felt a tear fall onto his wrist from his mate's eyes seconds before he felt one of his own slip down his cheek. "I had no idea it was that bad. I promise you, I will do everything in my power to never make you sleep alone again. I love you so much, and I hate to see you suffer like this. I know it's not my fault, but I wish I hadn't had to go, to put you through that. The important thing is that I'm here now, and I have no intentions of being framed for murder again. I am by your side and you are the farthest thing from alone. Please, just next time tell me, or call me home, alright? I don't want you going through things like this on your own and not telling me, okay? I can help you. So never be afraid to talk to me."_

 _"_ _Okay," Remus said, snuggling further into Sirius's arms._

 _"_ _So, is it just at night you have trouble being in bed by yourself, or is it a problem in the morning, too?"_

 _"_ _It's not as bad in the morning," Remus said, "but it's still not great to wake up alone, especially when I forget for a moment you've gotten out."_

 _"_ _Okay, well from here on out it will be my life's goal to make sure I never leave you in bed by yourself."_

 _"_ _Thank you."_

* * *

Remus's reminiscing was cut short by a frantic knock on the door. Fearing the worst – frantic knocking was never good – Remus moved to the door. When he opened it, Severus immediately entered without waiting for an invitation. He pushed Remus a little on the way inside, which only added to Remus's growing concern because Severus never pushed him – or anyone else in their family – like that. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Severus looked at him, and there was something in his eyes that was unlike anything Remus had seen before. He noticed a scent coming off of Severus now. It wasn't something he'd smelled often, but it was a smell only alpha's could give off. It occurred when something an alpha cared for _deeply_ was threatened. It was intended to tell people to back off of whatever was under attack, and to be perfectly honest it was putting Remus on edge. It wasn't a scent anyone wanted to be around. The only person it wouldn't cause anxiety for would be the alpha's mate, who it would actually have calming effects on. Remus was sure Severus had no idea he was producing it, though.

With a trembling voice, Severus said, "He's taken Harry. And it's all my fault," he added in a whisper that no one but a werewolf would have been capable of hearing. Severus held out the note to Remus, who took it unsteadily. He read through it several times before he fully grasped the meaning. He sank down onto the sofa. His system felt near to going into shock. The scent from Severus coupled with the thought that his pup and grand-pup had been taken by the worst possible person were making him feel trapped and anxious, and he needed something to calm down, but nothing would. He knew what he needed to do, though.*

Remus immediately began reaching out to Sirius. His body's current hypersensitive state helped him to get the signal through, because it was naturally reaching for his mate. He wasn't exactly sure what Sirius was getting – it wasn't an exact science – but he was sure that whatever it was would draw Sirius home.

* * *

*When an alpha and an omega mate, the bond creates a link between them that can be accessed over long distances. If either of them has need of the other, they just have to focus for a few moments, reach out, and the other will feel a tug, letting them know they are needed. Emotions can also be transferred. If one of them needs calming or reassurance, that can be provided over the distance. If one is distressed but doesn't 't have a way to verbalize it, the connection can take care of that as well. The bond that supports this connection – the bond that makes two people mates – cannot be broken by any kind of accident. There are three ways to do it, and each requires action to be taken on either the alpha or the omega, but not both. The first way is a potion that works through the body to undo anything that connects the alpha or omega to their mate. An alternative way is a spell that can be uttered and has the same effect. The one other way is particularly brutal...

During the public part of the mating ceremony, the bond is prepared, but the bond is not completed until the night, when the alpha and omega first (or sometimes for the hundredth time) unite intimately with each other in sexual intercourse. As the two are tied by the alpha's knot, the bond is finally fully complete. As the bond completes itself, a unique symbol will appear, glowing, on the back of the left hand of each of the mates. It is painless and remains visible for roughly an hour before fully settling into the skin where it is intended to remain. If the person breaking the bond desires the breakage to be painful, they can use the third method: a silver knife dipped in Baneberry Potion can be stabbed into the back of the left hand, causing excruciating pain to that person's hand – thought no pain to their mate. This always leaves a scar, though it has no effect on future mating.

When Sirius was taken to Azkaban, they had severed his bond with Remus in this manner, and Sirius had felt pain in his left hand from it for months, though that may have had more to do with the fact that he'd not had proper medical attention. When Nathaniel had ended things with Harry, he'd chosen to use the spell on himself because it was by far the easiest way – no bad taste, no pain, just a little tingle.

* * *

 ** _AN: That's all for now. I make no promises on the timing of the next chapter. Reviews/favorites/follows make my day :)  
_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I felt it was time I updated this. Enjoy!_**

* * *

Sirius was just beginning to cool down. The Minister had sent a letter to Sirius _late_ the night before asking if he could enlist Remus's help on catching Greyback – who was one of the most dangerous Death Eaters remaining uncaught, if you could call him a Death Eater . He was more of a mercenary who happened to have worked for Voldemort, and there was a slight difference. The Minister's reasoning in requesting Remus had been that you need to think like him to catch him, and so far none of his men had been able to do it, so he decided to go after the nicest werewolf he knew for help.

Sirius's response had been as follows: "For one thing, I am not in charge of Remus. Yeah, I'm his alpha. That doesn't mean I get control over what he does. So next time you want his help, ask him yourself. And Remus does not think like Greyback just because they have the same problem. Greyback goes around looking for people to attack, while Remus does everything in his power to avoid getting anywhere near people on the night of the full moon. Greyback looks after no one but himself while Remus looks after everyone else _before_ himself. They are nothing alike, and if that is your reasoning for enlisting Remus's help, you can just shove your request up your own behind. And if you haven't caught him in this many years, it's your own damn fault. I reiterate: talk to Remus if you have to ask him for something, Remus and Greyback are nothing alike, and you're the one who's let him roam free for this long."

Sirius had stormed out after that, not allowing the current Minister – who was just as bad as the last – say anything else. Now he was at a coffee shop trying to calm down so he wouldn't come home angry. He had decided that after he finished the last half of his coffee, he would go back home, but his plans were changed when he felt a tug at something deep inside that immediately made his thoughts focus on his mate.

Remus was reaching out to him. He needed Sirius. He wasn't hurt, at least not physically, but he was scared and anxious and alone. Sirius abandoned his coffee, went to the first empty alley he could run to, and apparated home. There he found Remus sitting on the sofa with a stunned look on his face, a note clinched in his hand, and Severus pacing up and down frantically. Sirius immediately recognized the scent in the air. He felt a chill on his skin. Somehow, he had a hunch this led back to Harry. He didn't know what he would do if something was wrong with his pup. First he had to get this situation under control, then he could move on to whatever caused it – he could still hope Harry was safe somewhere, even if he was only deluding himself.

First he would tend to his omega, because that was an instinct he simply couldn't fight. "Remus," he said, sitting gingerly beside the other man. "Come here." When Remus leaned toward him, he wrapped both arms around his shoulders and held him close, knowing that being wrapped up in his alpha's arms always calmed Remus. Sirius was like a protective barrier between Remus and whatever dangers threatened him. Sirius kissed his hair as he felt Remus relax a little. When Sirius kissed Remus's hair, it always reminded Remus somehow of how much Sirius loved him. "It'll be alright," Sirius assured him. The soft words caused Remus to visibly relax and he slumped, completely relying on Sirius now to keep him from falling to the floor. Now that Remus had settled enough, he moved his attention to Severus.

"I don't know what the situation is, and I don't expect you to suddenly become alright with it," he began, "but you need to calm down."

Severus turned hard eyes onto Sirius. "I can't," he uttered tersely. "Would you be able to calm down if your mate and pup had been taken by someone who you knew was an abusive rapist?"

"Maybe not, but at least get yourself under control. Whether you realize it or not, your scent at the moment is making both Remus and myself uncomfortable and you're scaring Remus, which I won't stand for, and you're making me beyond uneasy right now." The uneasiness was giving Sirius a fierce desire to protect Remus, and it was becoming a challenge not to fully yell at the other alpha.

Severus seemed to realize what his body was doing and he immediately took a few calming breaths. It would do no good to upset either of the men in the room, and in his current state he couldn't even think clearly enough to figure out a way to help his own mate. "Do you happen to have a calming draught I might take?" he asked quietly.

"In the kitchen cabinet, directly to the right of the window," Sirius answered.

Severus left without another word and Sirius's attentions immediately returned to Remus. "Are you alright, love?" he asked.

"No," Remus said. "Harry – he's been taken. We have to get him safe again. And it's not just Harry. Ivy's gone, too. What if they get hurt and we can't do anything about it? What if we can't find them? Siri, what do we do?"

Sirius felt his jaw tighten at learning fully what had happened. As if he didn't already have enough protective urges flowing through him. "We will get them safe again, at least we will if I have anything to say about it. Besides, Harry is a resourceful man. He's not completely defenseless. We're not going to let him go so easily. We won't lose him without a fight, and if experience says anything, we're all quite good at putting up a descent opposition." Remus nodded and stayed in his alpha's arms, where he felt safe at the moment. Except… he couldn't stop himself from thinking that Harry probably didn't feel safe.

When Severus came back into the room, he was no longer giving off the horrible scent. "Have you read the note?" he asked Sirius.

"No," Sirius answered as Remus held the now-wrinkled note out to him. Sirius felt his anger begin to rise at what he read. As if Nathaniel hadn't already been the person he hated most – at least, out of the people still alive – he was now the person he most strongly detested with every single solitary fiber of his very being. "Nathaniel will not get away with this. There is no chance. We will find Harry, and we will make that man pay."

"But how? How do we even begin?" Severus asked.

"For starters, I know you do not want to hear it, but you need to go to work," Sirius said. Knowing the other man was about to protest, he pressed on. "I know that is the last thing you want to hear, but he might be watching you. If he is, he needs to be given the impression that you aren't going to try to look for Harry. There is a slight chance he's all talk and he won't watch you, but it's better to err on the side of Harry's safety.

"Meanwhile, I'm going to take this to the only psychologist I know anything about – Ethan Robins. I'm going to have him look at this as see if he can determine where this man's head is and where he might have taken Harry. Remus, I'd like you to come with me, if you feel up to it. Then I think the two of us should see if we can get Nathaniel's address from Ron since he works at the Ministry but won't give us away. Then I think we should go to his place just to see if there are any signs of where he might have taken Harry, or if he was stupid enough to take him to where he lives. You don't have to go with me if you don't feel up to it – I would just feel a little better with a little backup."

"I can do it," Remus said.

"You will keep me in the loop?" Severus asked.

"Yes, if we find out anything of importance, we will immediately let you know. If not, we'll just update you once you close the shop."

"Alright. Well, I suppose I will be going now," Severus said before he took the Floo to his apothecary.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sirius checked once more after Severus had left.

"Overprotective alpha," Remus muttered fondly. "I think that's the hundredth time you've checked on my well-being in about as many seconds."

"The question still stands," Sirius pressed.

"Not really," Remus admitted, "but I don't think I will be until we get our cub back.".

"Okay. Let's get over to St. Mungo's then and see if we can get in to see Ethan." Remus nodded in agreement.

* * *

 ** _AN: That's all for now. Reviews/favorites/follows inspire me.  
_**

 ** _I always forget to do this, so I'm amending for my oversight in chapter one: I am not JK Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter. Anything recognizable does not belong to me. I am not making money by writing this. There, disclaimer complete._**

 ** _P.S. I think it might be appropriate to go ahead and mention this: part of my reason for writing this particular story is to inevitably give Nathaniel what he truly deserves. So to those of you who are still waiting for the real retribution, it is coming._**


	3. Say Something I'm Giving up on You

**_AN: I'm sorry it's taken so long to finally update this! I'll try not to let it go so far next time. I made this chapter longer to make up for it though :-D (I actually gave this chapter a title because I was listening to song by that title while editing this and it seemed a little fitting, although to be clear they are not giving up on Harry.)  
_**

* * *

When they made their way to the beta's office, to their luck, he was just walking out for a coffee break between appointments when they arrived.

"We've never met before, but you're Ethan Robins, right?" Sirius asked.

"That I am," he answered. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I'm Sirius, and this is my mate Remus. We're Harry's parents. He was a patient of yours. Harry Snape, formerly Potter?"

"Ah yes, I remember him. He talked about you occasionally. Seemed very fond of you. It's very nice to meet you," Ethan said with a warm smile, holding a hand out to Sirius and then Remus to shake.

"Nice to meet you as well, although perhaps not under the circumstances," Remus replied.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked, noticing that both of the men looked a little haggard.

"We've got a problem," Sirius said. "I hope we're not imposing. Severus, Harry's mate, went looking for Harry this morning, but found this instead, and I was wondering if maybe you could get some sort of reading from this, to tell us what Nathaniel might be planning, or where his head might be," Sirius explained, handing the note to Ethan so he could read it.

Ethan's brow drew together in concern as he read the note. "This is not good," he said. "For Harry to be back with him… But you wanted me to see what information I could gain regarding the man's mental state, yes? He's certainly very egotistical, thinks himself better than most… but you already knew that. He seems to know what he's doing though, as if he's been planning this for some time… It seems he feels entitled to the pup – Ivy I believe I heard her name was? He considers her his own, even though that is the farthest thing from the truth. I would say she should be safe from intentional harm, though he isn't stable enough to be fully trusted with child care in any form. I'm afraid I can't say the same for Harry. He thinks Harry should be punished for not giving Nathaniel what he feels he was entitled to. Nathaniel is a man who is beyond stubborn, and once he has made a decision, it is near impossible to change his mind. He believes he deserves something just because he desires it. I cannot guess where he may have taken the two of them, and I'm afraid I have told you nothing you couldn't have determined for yourselves, but I hope something I have said will somehow help you. Is there anything else at all I can do for you?"

"Not that we know of," Sirius said. "But keep an eye out for anything, and if you think of anything that might be helpful to us, let us know."

"Please let me know when you find them," Ethan said, promising to himself that he would think on this as much as he could to be able to help as much as possible.

"Of course," Remus said.

* * *

When Sirius and Remus got to the Ministry of Magic, it was an easy task to find Ron's office. They had visited him several times before. The first problem they ran into was when they saw he had gained an assistant. It was the assistant who opened the door for them when they knocked hurriedly on the door.

"Do you have an appointment?" were the first words out of the teenager's mouth.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Remus.

"I asked if you had an appointment, and I'm guessing the answer is no. Mr. Weasley is a very busy man and—"

"Nicole, what did I tell you about asking people if they have appointments?" came Ron's voice from somewhere behind the door.

The girl's ears turned red and she responded, "Not to do it."

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

"Because you are a very busy person and you don't have time for people bursting in here left and right to ask you ridiculous questions."

"Nicole, I'm not exactly booked right now and visitors aren't particularly frequent anyway. Now why don't you let them in so I can see what they want?" Ron sounded quite exasperated with his assistant, but there was almost a hint of amusement there as well.

"Very well," Nicole said with a dramatic sigh as she moved out of their way.

"Sirius, Remus," Ron said when he saw the two of them standing there. "What brings you here?"

"Trouble I'm afraid," Sirius said. "We need to speak with you privately, please," he said with a significant look in the direction of Nicole.

"Of course. Nicole, why don't you take a fifteen minute break?"

"Fifteen minutes?!" she asked.

"Alright, take twenty then," Ron said with a small smile.

"But—"

"No buts. I insist. Take your time. I think I can manage without you for a few minutes."

"Alright. Call if you need me, I guess," Nicole finally consented.

As soon as Nicole was out of earshot, Ron told the other two men in the room, "She somehow had mixed the idea that I'm some sort of important higher-up in the Ministry with the idea that I can't function without her. I told Kingsley I was doing just fine without an assistant, but he insisted she could be helpful. Now, what's wrong, because judging by your faces, it's pretty bad."

Sirius began to explain things. "We need a favor, and we need you to be discreet. Harry's life depends on it. Of course, you've helped him plenty of times before so I'm sure you can handle this. Anyway, Harry and Ivy were taken this morning by Nathaniel, and we need to find them fast, but he threatened to end Harry's life if we go looking for him. We need Nathaniel's current address, because it seems like a logical place to start, and we came to you because you're the person we know the best and trust the most in the Ministry who might be able to get the information for us."

"Right, of course," Ron said, immediately opening a drawer in his desk. He muttered some spell and a slip of paper popped into the air near Ron's forehead before slowly beginning to flutter down. Ron caught it in midair. "They installed these new drawers that can allow you access to all information the Ministry has, except for restricted information, of course. Here it is. Apparently, he hasn't moved."

It was true. The address was the same as the one he used to share with Harry. "Is there anything else I can do at all? And I do mean anything?"

"Do you have any ideas for where to look for him? We're going to see if Nathaniel was stupid enough to take Harry and Ivy to his house first, and then we're going to check the house for any clues about where he might have gone. We might interview the neighbors. All that we can take care of though. It's after that we're unsure of, unless we get any breakthroughs in doing that," Sirius told him.

"Is there some sort of note?" Ron asked.

"Yes, here," Remus said, pulling the note from his own pocket where he had stowed it some time ago.

Ron skimmed the note. "Yeah, I'm afraid I don't really have any ideas either, but if at any time you think of anything I can do to help you in any way, even if it's getting you some food to eat or something simple like that, let me know immediately, okay?"

"Of course," Remus said.

"Obviously, don't go spreading this around, but you can certainly tell Hermione and if she had any ideas, we'd be more than thankful."

"Alright. We actually have a lunch date today, so if either of us thinks of anything, one of us will get back to you. How's Severus doing?"

"Not great. He's at his shop now – we told him that we need to keep up appearances because it seems like a possibility that Nathaniel is watching us all. We promised to keep him updated, of course."

"Well, good luck," Ron said as Sirius and Remus took their leave.

Before going to the house, Sirius and Remus paused in an almost deserted park. "Are you alright?" Sirius asked Remus once again, placing his hands on his mate's shoulders as he faced him. He knew for certain something was off.

"No," Remus answered shakily. "I'm just so scared for them – both of them. What if we're too late? What if we find them, but they're already – already—"

"Shhh, don't think like that," Sirius said, placing a hand against Remus's cheek. Remus leaned into it. "It's only been a few hours – much too soon to give up hope now."

Remus nodded slightly and allowed himself to relax for a few moments, trying to calm down the anxiety he was feeling. When he finally felt alright again, he stood back a little from Sirius and gave him a nod. "I'm ready," he said.

"Okay," Sirius said before taking Remus's hand and apparating the two of them to the front yard of the house Harry had once lived in with Nathaniel. "It still looks the same," Sirius commented.

"That it does," Remus agreed. "I'm ready whenever you are," he added.

Sirius nodded. "Let's do it, then." He and Remus both silently braced themselves, unsure of what they would find inside the house.

At first, everything was normal. There was total silence, and the rooms looked clean yet lived-in. There was some ordinary food in the kitchen, a pair of shoes on the living room floor, some toothpaste stains in the bathroom sink, and the bed was unmade in the master bedroom, while the guest bedroom looked pristine. The attic was dark and cluttered, just as it had always been, so they finally moved on to the basement. That was where the horrors started. Pictures covered the walls: pictures of the house Harry and Severus shared, of the backyard, pictures taken from outside the windows looking in on different rooms such as the nursery or Severus and Harry's bedroom, pictures of Ron, Hermione, and Rose visiting (they had yet to have another child), pictures of Sirius and Remus visiting, and possibly hundreds of shots of Harry in town. Some of them showed him and Severus walking hand-in-hand, some showed Harry or Severus holding baby Ivy, others portrayed the small family playing in a park, and one showed Ivy walking between Sirius and Remus on one of the days they'd agreed to babysit for her parents.

Sirius and Remus both shared horrified looks at what they were seeing. This was obvious evidence that Nathaniel had been stalking Harry and his pup since the little girl was born. The thought of it made both of them angry. It had been suggested that it was premeditated, but they hadn't realized it was to this extreme. This was going to be harder than they thought. Nathaniel had years of planning under his belt, while Harry's family was working with absolutely nothing.

For whatever reason, Remus felt himself compelled to take a closer look at one of the walls that had been covered in photographs. He was glad he did. There was a picture there, in the very center, that didn't have any people in it. Instead, it was a small cabin. There was a dirt road in front of it, and the background was full of trees. After pulling it off the wall, Remus turned it over, and on the back was written one word: _HOME_. "Sirius, I think I know where he's taken them," Remus said.

* * *

Harry was about to panic. After waking up in a room lit only by a little daylight that filtered through a barred window, he'd almost forgotten what had happened, but then he'd noticed the bars on the window, the very sturdy looking door, and the lack of familiarity of the room. Then he remembered that Nathaniel had him. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he had Ivy, too. With that thought in mind, he quickly got off the bed he'd been placed on and made quick work of checking the room. When he verified it was pup-free, he went to the door to check if it would open, but he was met with much more than a locked door. When he got within five feet of it, an excruciating pain surged through his entire body. It was enough to send him onto the floor in a heap as he waited for the agony to abate.

 _Sev_ he thought. He needed Severus. He would come get him. Reaching out, he could feel when he connected with his alpha.

Severus was pacing the floor in the back room of his apothecary. He hated this. No, that wasn't strong enough. He loathed it. That still wasn't quite the word, but it was close enough. Severus was too anxious to worry about being literary at the moment anyway. His mate and his pup had been taken, and here he was working at his job like it was any other day. Much to his fortune, he had only had one customer that morning, so he didn't have to be too civil. He needed to know where Harry was, though.

Suddenly, he felt the bond he shared with his mate pick up on something, and he started to berate himself for not thinking of this connection sooner. If he'd had the brains to reach out to Harry before now, maybe he could have gotten him and their pup home already.

Then he felt despair. He wasn't just getting a _come get me_ message. He was feeling pain. Harry was hurt, badly. Wanting to do anything to help Harry, he sent reassurance towards him.

Harry felt it when Sev responded to his pull. He immediately felt calmer. Focusing as hard as he possibly could, Harry tried to communicate a word to his mate. Words were a lot more difficult than feelings, but in certain situations, it was known to happen between strongly bonded mates.

Severus felt his heart break when he received a single word from Harry. _Help_. Oh, how he wanted to. He would give anything to be by his omega's side. _Where?_ He answered after a struggle.

Harry was searching for an answer. Where was he? There were trees, but that would tell Severus little to nothing. He didn't even know the size or type of building he was in. He was scrambling for an answer so his alpha could come help him, but he couldn't figure out what to tell him. He has just said _woods_ because it was better than nothing when the door opened and there stood Nathaniel with a knife in his grasp. There was something wet glistening on the blade of it, and Harry had a hunch about what it was. His communication with Sev was still quite strong, so he got another word in, his panic pushing his thoughts further toward Severus and somehow making the communication easier. _Knife_ he said in fear.

 _Woods_ Severus heard. That didn't help much, but at least it was more than what he did have. He was just narrowing down the places _not_ to look (such as Egypt) when another word came to him. _Knife._ Severus felt his heart stop. Knife? Surely that didn't mean…

Before Harry could do anything to defend himself, his felt his body frozen by a spell from Nathaniel. The spell was the only thing Nathaniel said for the time being. Then his left wrist was in Nathaniel's hand and the knife was poised over the back of Harry's hand. There was no denying his fate now. He was going to be cut off from Severus – literally. _No_ , he thought. He needed that bond. Without that, he was lost. The knife then plunged into Harry's hand, surely deeper than necessary, and an excruciating pain swept over Harry's body, worse than anything he'd felt before. It hit more than just physical nerves. His emotions were going haywire, too. His hand was burning and he felt certain the end had arrived.

Nathaniel addressed Harry for the first time after withdrawing and wiping Harry's blood from the knife and onto Harry's own shirt. "Now you won't have another alpha to run to. It's just you and me again. Well, you and me and the pup - as it should be. She really is adorable, you know that?"

"Ivy," Harry murmured. "Where is she?"

"You'll see her soon. I was just introducing myself to her, but the two of you will be sharing a room. Pup raising is in the omega's line of work, after all. She's perfectly fine. Trust me, she's the last person I want to hurt right now, other than myself of course. Now, a few rules.

"First and foremost, don't leave this room. If you need to relieve yourself, there's a lovely hole in that wall over there that you can certainly make use of. Don't try to crawl through it, though, because I have it warded and you won't make it through. Also, in case you haven't noticed, there is a spell around the door that is specific to you. If you get within five feet of it, you will be hit with the Cruciatus Curse. Judging by your position on the ground – which of course is your rightful place – I would say you've already been foolish enough to try the door once.

"Second, do as I say or face the consequences. You already have weekly punishments set up and I'm sure you don't want to add to your pain. I'll tell you about those punishments later. If you don't follow every order I give you, when I give it to you, it will be painful for you, though I must admit I myself will enjoy it.

"Third, don't try to resist me. You have no wand, apparition inside this building is impossible, and I have full use of my own magic. Resistance is futile and will only result in more punishments.

"Do you understand all of these? If I see the need, I will add more rules later. I am not an unreasonable man, of course, so I will only punish you for breaking a rule if you break it after I tell it to you. I do expect complete compliance. Now, as for the punishments that have already been set in place. You denied me pups for years, only for me to find out later that you can bear pups after all. I do not appreciate this, so from this day forward, every Monday you will be given a lashing for every month you failed to get pregnant. Now, we were mated for two years and three months, is that correct? Of course it is. Now, there are twelve months in a year, so that's twenty-four. Add the extra three and we have twenty-seven. That really isn't a great number though, so I think it fitting we add three more. One for mating another alpha, one for having his pup, and another for that revolting story you had published about me. Does a total of thirty sound fair to you?"

"No," Harry gritted out, still fighting the pain in his hand.

"Well, it's a good thing I don't care what you think because then it really would ruin my fun. Now, why don't we begin?"

When the lashing was finally over, Harry could feel the blood on his back. Nathaniel had taken Harry's shirt off before he started, and now he walked back to Harry with it in hand. Before giving it back to the omega, he took the opportunity to allow his hands to roam freely over Harry's bare torso. Harry felt sick as the disgusting hands touched his skin, but he found it impossible to move away. He was grateful when Nathaniel left him to put his shirt back on.

Roughly five minutes later, Ivy was brought to Harry. The four-year-old looked a little frightened, and Harry felt angry at Nathaniel. What had he done to his pup? Before he had the chance to demand answers, Nathaniel had closed the door behind him, leaving the two alone. "Daddy?" Ivy questioned.

"Hey sweetheart," Harry said, holding out his arms to her. She quickly went to him and snuggled against his chest.

"Who's the bad man outside?" she asked softly.

Harry felt a little relieved that at least his pup recognized the danger Nathaniel posed rather than believing the lies Nathaniel had surely told her, but he also worried about why. "He's someone Daddy used to know. He doesn't like me very much."

"That's no good reason to hurt you," said Ivy.

"What?" Harry asked. He had told himself he would be strong for his daughter, so she wouldn't get scared knowing her daddy was hurt.

"He told me he was gonna make you regret not being better earlier, and that means he was gonna hurt you," Ivy said sounding fearful.

Harry winced. Why did his daughter have to know about all of this? He would really have to be strong for her, perhaps more than he had originally thought. "Well, you're right about it not being a good reason," he agreed. "I'll be okay, though. It's not that bad."

"What did he do?" Ivy asked.

"Nothing much," Harry said, which technically wasn't a lie. He'd certainly experienced worse.

"Where's Papa?" asked Ivy.

"I don't know, sweetie."

"Are we gonna be okay?"

"Of course we are. Just wait and see."

* * *

When Sirius and Remus approached the apothecary early that afternoon to show Severus the photograph they'd found of the cabin, they passed a woman who was on her way out. "Don't bother," she told them. "The sign says 'open', I know, but there's no one in there. I tried calling out but I didn't get an answer."

"Thank you," Remus said before he and Sirius entered anyway. Something must have happened, they both knew. Without hesitating, the two went straight to the back room where they found a dazed-looking Severus sitting in a hard wooden chair that, up until this point, had largely gone unused.

"Severus, what's wrong?" Sirius asked. Remus noticed Severus was rubbing his left hand absentmindedly and feared what might have happened, but he waited for the man to answer Sirius.

"I heard from Harry this morning. He was in pain," Severus said in a detached voice. "I tried to calm him down, and I think it may have worked just a bit. Then he said 'help'. I asked 'where' and after a few minutes all he said was 'woods'. A few seconds later, his fear spiked and he said 'knife'. Then I felt our bond be severed, and my hand has been itching ever since. Our bond has been destroyed," Severus said in utter brokenness.

Sirius didn't know what to say to that. He could only imagine how Severus was feeling, and he knew all too well the pain Harry would be experiencing. Remus, however, seemed to know exactly what to do. He got a vial of potion from one of the shelves. Sirius recognized it as dittany. Taking a small rag, Remus applied some of the potion to Severus's hand. "It makes the itching go away," he said softly when Severus gave him an odd look. "You'll have to apply it for the next week," he added.

"Thank you, Remus," Severus murmured. Remus moved to put the supplies away, but Sirius stopped him, taking them from him.

Nodding his head in thanks to Sirius, Remus began to speak gently. "I know it's a bit different, but I do know a little of what you're feeling. When they took Sirius, I wasn't sure if I'd get him back again. I never realized they would break our bond, though – not until they did it. It devastated me to think about how alone it must have made him. I knew the itching was irritating to me, but I also knew the pain would be worse for him since he was the one who was actually stabbed in the back of the hand. Just the thought of it—" Remus stopped, his voice catching as tears hovered on the brink of sliding down his cheeks due to the combination of his own memories and his fears for Harry. "I don't know exactly what it's like in this specific situation, but I do have an understanding. You're not alone in this. We have your back, we have Harry's back, and you're both going to be okay. If you need anything, please tell us. Even if you feel foolish for asking for it, even if it is something as simple as reassurance, just ask."

"Thank you," Severus said again.

After waiting a respectable amount of time, Sirius said, "We did find something."

"What?" Severus asked expectantly.

"In the basement, there was evidence that Nathaniel stalked your family for years. Most of the photographs he had down there were useless, but we did find one that may be of some use." Sirius produced the picture of the cabin. "We don't know where it is, but there are trees in the background and Harry did say the word woods, so at least we have an idea of where we're looking."

"It's a start at least," Severus agreed, trying to be optimistic though he was frustrated that there wasn't more. He knew he couldn't let himself get down or he would start plumeting and then he would be no good for Harry and Ivy.

"We're not about to give up," Remus said.

"I think I know what we might do," Severus said. "It says 'home' on the back. There is a possibility he owns this under an alias, or perhaps he used to live there. Could you look into that?"

"We'll see if Ron can get the information," Sirius said. He checked the time. "We've still got several hours before dinnertime. Why don't we go ahead back to the Ministry to speak to Ron, and then let's all go eat a bite somewhere? I don't know about the two of you, but I certainly don't feel up to cooking right now."

"Agreed," said both Remus and Severus at the same time, though truly none of them knew if they could find it in themselves to eat.

* * *

When Ron saw The very drawn pair of Remus and Sirius enter his office again, he hoped they would have some new information. "Anything?" he asked them.

"Possibly," Sirius told him before explaining the scene they'd found in the basement and producing the picture of the cabin. "Can you look and see if Nathaniel owns any other properties, possibly even under an alias?"

"I wouldn't be able to find it if it's under an alias, but I can see if he owns properties other than the one he lives in," Ron said before going back to the newly installed drawers. "There aren't any other properties that he owns under the name Nathaniel Morgan, but I did find a list of all his previous residences. It seems he moved around a lot as a child. He's lived in four different cabin-type houses, all of which are abandoned now," Ron said.

"Are any of those close to any woods?" Remus asked.

"Yes, two of the four have woods nearby, but the other two are in empty fields."

"Can you give us the addresses for the ones near the woods?" Sirius asked.

"Of course," Ron said, handing them over. "Good luck."

* * *

Sirius, Remus, Ron, Hermione, and Severus all met at the house Severus shared with his family that night to compile their ideas. "We went to all the houses we could connect to Nathaniel that fit with the picture we found and with the fact that we know there are woods near to Harry, but we came up empty-handed," Sirius said dejectedly.

"Is there any way for us to determine if he has any aliases?" Hermione asked hopefully. Ron had caught her up on everything.

"Not unless we just start making guesses," Remus said.

"Suppose we made a more thorough search of the house, looking for any possible papers he might have with addressed written on them?" Sirius mused.

"As large as that house is?" Ron questioned.

"What else are we going to do? We don't have any other leads," Sirius said.

"Fair enough," Ron agreed. "So, is that our plan, now?" he asked.

"Unless anyone else can think of anything else?" Sirius asked.

Everyone else shook their heads. Hermione spoke up. "I can help search. I took off work for a few days so I could help you find Harry."

"Thank you, we can use all the help we can get," Remus said. "Now, why don't the two of you go on home and the three of us can meet at Nathaniel's house around 8:00 tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Sounds good," said Ron.

Remus and Sirius shared a look after the other two had departed. Severus had sat silently throughout the entire meeting. "Severus?" Sirius asked softly.

Severus finally looked up from his lap. He met Sirius's eyes briefly before looking slightly away. He seemed so much more broken than either Sirius or Remus had ever seen the man.

"Will you be alright in this house by yourself?" Sirius asked. "Our door is always open to you, if you'd rather spend the night in our home."

"Thank you for the offer, but I decline."

"Is there anything at all we can do to help you?" Remus asked.

Severus sighed. He knew that they were being sincere, and this couldn't be easy for them either. Their pup and grand-pup were missing. He just wanted them to leave him in peace, though. It was becoming a struggle not to lash out at them. "No, thank you," he said.

Sirius and Remus decided it was time they leave Severus in peace and were on their way to doing so when they heard an intake of breath from Severus, causing both of them to turn around. "What is it?" Sirius asked.

"Harry – if things go normally, his heat will start tomorrow," Severus said shakily.

Sirius and Remus shared a wide-eyed glance. Remus knew from experience that going through a heat without an alpha or… other instruments was misery. When experiencing a heat, an omega was rarely in his or her right mind and would be willing to do nearly anything just to have a knot. The fact that Harry would be in close proximity with Nathaniel during this heat caused a chill to run down the spine of everyone in the room. They had to get Harry out of there, pronto.

* * *

 ** _AN: I'm going to try to get the next chapter up soon, but school's getting crazy so no promises. Things should get better by the end of May. Favorites/Follows/Reviews are the best!_**


	4. Nearing Safety

**_AN: It's not as long as usual, but I thought this was an appropriate length for this part. Enjoy!_**

* * *

When Harry woke up in the morning, he immediately knew he was screwed – not literally, thank Merlin. He had fallen asleep on the bed holding Ivy close. He'd been a little cold when he'd fallen asleep, but now he was sweating. He could smell his slick in the air, and he already felt the burning desire for an alpha. He moaned quietly, yearning for Severus. Severus wasn't going to be there, though. He was stuck with Nathaniel.

"Daddy?" he heard Ivy say. "What's wrong? You look sick."

"I'm okay, sweetie," he promised her. "This is just something that happens to me every once in a while. Normally Papa helps me with it."

"But he not here," Ivy said, sounding alarmed.

"I know. I'll be alright, though. We'll just have to wait for it to pass," Harry said.

"How long?"

"It depends," Harry said. He didn't want to tell his pup that it would probably take a week.

At that moment, Nathaniel entered the room. He took an obvious deep breath. "Mm, you smell good," he said to Harry, who was disgusted that he had to restrain himself from jumping the alpha. "I'm gonna take Ivy into another room, because I'm sure neither of you want her to see what's about to happen."

"No," Harry said firmly, standing in front of his daughter to defend her from being taken away from him. Heat or no heat, he was not being separated from his pup in a place like this by a man like Nathaniel.

"You really think you have any power here?" Nathaniel challenged.

"You stay away from my pup," Harry threatened.

"I don't think so," Nathaniel said, using a spell to knock a defenseless Harry away from his stance in front of the bed. Harry tried to rise quickly, but it took him too long because of the pain he was in, so by the time he had regained his feet he was alone in the room. Nathaniel quickly returned, of course. "That pup of yours sure has a set of lungs on her," Nathaniel said. "I didn't realize just how close your heat was when I snatched you, but I suppose it's an added benefit. I always did enjoy you during your heats."

Without another word, Nathaniel forced a fighting Harry onto the bed and straddled him. Harry's back was killing him all the while and the pain was just getting worse. He was so desperate to escape, and he could virtually feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. The eminence of disaster was spurring him on to fight even harder, and soon he saw an opportunity.

Nathaniel was hovering over Harry, not doing much at the moment. Perhaps he was savoring his moment. Taking in the angle and distance, Harry shoved his knee forcefully into Nathaniel's groin, causing the other to grunt in pain. Harry used the distraction to reach for Nathaniel's wand. As soon as his fingers had gotten around it, Harry shouted, "Stupefy!" and was incredibly relieved to see that it knocked Nathaniel across the room. He hadn't been sure if the wand would work for him. Deciding to make doubly sure, Harry added, "Petrificus Totalus," before taking down the barrier around the door, permitting him to exit the room to find his pup.

Ivy was in a room on the other side of the cabin, and when Harry got to her she was crying. "Hey, it's okay, sweetie," he told her softly.

"Daddy!" she called through her tears.

"Hey, you ready to get out of here?" Harry asked as picked his pup up.

"Yeah," she said, clinging to his back and making him wince. He didn't much care, though - not enough to tell her to let go.

Harry quickly carried his daughter out of the house, trying to ignore the simultaneous difficulties of the lashes on his back, the still-searing pain in his hand, his newly beginning heat that was only intensifying, and the gnawing hunger he was feeling. He took a careful account of his surroundings. The house was in the middle of nowhere. There was a dusty road in front of him and trees behind him. Deciding to hope for the best – that he would run into someone friendly rather than a predatory alpha – he took the road.

After walking a quarter-mile from the house, Harry had to set Ivy down to walk on her own, though they firmly kept a hold on each other's hands. He was beginning to wish he could remember healing spells a little better, but nothing was coming to him. He would just have to wait until he found help.

After walking another quarter-mile, Harry knew he needed to sit down for a moment. He found a large rock a little ways off the road and led Ivy over to it, having her sit on it beside him. "You okay, Daddy?" Ivy asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he assured her. He knew she was scared, and all he wanted to do was change that. "I'm just a little tired." Then a thought struck him rather belatedly. "I'm going to try to send a message to Papa, okay?" he said, thinking of the Patronus charm. "It may not work, though, since this isn't my wand," he said. He tried several different times using several different memories, but he never got more than a whisper of silver.

"No message?" Ivy asked when Harry lowered the wand a final time.

"No message," Harry repeated. "Come on, we better keep moving as much as possible," he said before standing and pulling Ivy up beside him. He held her hand again as they got back onto the road and started the long trek they had ahead of them. Harry considered apparating, but he was much too worn out and he wasn't going to risk splinching Ivy.

Harry had lost track of time when they finally saw another road intersecting with the road they were on. It was still morning, but he was sure that hours had passed. He wasn't sure which way they should take when they reached the intersection, but at least there was a break in the monotony.

As it turned out, he didn't have to decide which way to go at all, because as soon as he stepped onto the other road, he looked both ways and saw someone approaching them from the left. And to his relief, it was someone he recognized.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was a very different man compared to how he'd been before the war. One of the most notable differences was his affinity for taking walks. As a sixteen-year-old, he would have scorned anyone who thought such a thing could be done for pleasure, but after the horrors of the war, he found them quite therapeutic. After years of walking near his home, he found that the lack of change in scenery could get dull, so he often apparated to another random location to begin his walking.

He'd done so today, and he was considering going back home when he heard his name being called from ahead of him on the road he'd thought was deserted. Looking ahead, he saw two forms – a man and a child. The voice who had called out to him had been the man's, and he found himself hurrying forward due to the strained tone in the voice. As he neared the two figures, one was soon recognized as Harry Potter – no, Snape – and it didn't take an Auror to determine the small child was his daughter. What were they doing out there. Finally, Draco had reached the two and he was shocked at what he saw. "Harry, what happened?" he asked.

"We were kidnapped," Harry said. "By my ex. I don't have my wand, but I managed to get his and get away. I need you to contact Sev for me, and fast. I can't do a Patronus with this wand and I can't apparate right now, but I need Sev."

Draco suddenly realized that Harry was in heat. That could not be anything good. He also saw that Harry's left hand was bleeding, and knew immediately what had been done to it. Sending a message to Severus might not be fast enough. He had visited Harry and Severus at the house several times, seeing as how Severus was his godfather and he was on good terms with Harry now. He knew where Severus lived. "I can do better than a message. Would you like me to just apparate the two of you to your home?"

"Yes, please," Harry agreed quickly.

Without any further delay, Draco took hold of both Harry and Ivy before taking them home. Harry thought briefly about how fortunate it was that Draco was a beta rather than an alpha, or he might have jumped even him in the close proximity.

When they had apparated to Harry's house, he was overwhelmed with the beautiful scents of home. It was too quiet, though. The house felt empty, and he somehow just knew that Sev wasn't home. Draco seemed to have come to the same conclusion because he asked Harry, "Would you like me to send him a message now telling him to come home immediately?"

"Please," Harry said, feeling worse by the second. He didn't think he could hold on much longer. Draco might not be an alpha, but he still had male anatomy and he was looking better by the second to Harry's heat-addled brain. Harry watched as Draco sent his Patronus to Severus. "Draco," he said breathlessly, "I think I'd better go lay down. Send Sev to me when he gets here. And can you take care of Ivy in the meantime?"

"Of course," Draco said, holding his arms out for the young girl.

"Daddy?" she asked, though she didn't fight going to Draco. She knew and trusted him.

"It's alright, baby girl," Harry assured her. "I'm just gonna go lay down, okay?"

"Okay," Ivy agreed, snuggling into the safety of Draco.

With those two syllables from his daughter, Harry rushed up the stairs and closed himself inside his and Sev's room, hoping Severus would be quick.

* * *

 ** _AN: Well, there was that... I'd like to ask all of you a favor: I'm having trouble deciding just what to do to Nathaniel. Obviously, Snape's going to give him hell, but I can't decide exactly in what manner. I do know he's not going to kill Nathaniel - Snape sees that as too easy for Nathaniel and is going to give Nathaniel a taste of his anger before turning the vile thing over to the Ministry, because he has committed a crime now. Any suggestions on what exactly Severus should do to cause Nathaniel any kind of pain would be greatly appreciated. I can't promise I'll include it, but it can't hurt. Thanks for reading!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_AN: Happy Mother's Day to all! It's the official holiday today here in the US, though I'm afraid I'm ignorant regarding other countries. Regardless of your home country, if you are a mother, I would like to say thank you for what you have done to put up with your kids. I'm sure it can't be easy. Shout out to my mom for being a great woman who I can really look up to and who understands me better than I myself do at times. She is truly an amazing woman and I am immeasurably grateful to have her. Now, on to the part you all came here for._**

* * *

Severus was in his apothecary hating the world when Sirius, Remus, and Hermione all came by. "We found nothing," Sirius admitted dejectedly. "It seems we're at a dead end now."

"I'm not giving up until he is safe at home," Severus said stiffly.

"Neither are we," Remus said. "We're just going to have to think of some new ideas. Perhaps—what's that?"

They all turned to see a Patronus in the shape of a fox enter the room. It stood before Severus and said in Draco's voice, "Severus, you need to come home now. Harry's here and he needs you."

Without hesitation, all four of them apparated straight to the Snape residence to see Draco on the couch in the sitting room, holding an exhausted-looking Ivy. "Ivy," Severus breathed before rushing forward and taking her easily from Draco's hold. "Are you alright, Sweetie." Ivy silently nodded into his shoulder where she'd buried her face. "Where did you find them?" Severus asked Draco as he held his daughter close.

"They were walking down a road. Apparently they'd been kidnapped and escaped. Harry's not in great shape though. He's in heat, and he was beginning to look like he wanted to jump me once I apparated us here, then he excused himself to your room. I would suggest you go up there. We can take care of Ivy in your absence."

"Papa, is Daddy okay?" Ivy asked.

"He's going to be just fine. I'm gonna go take care of him. You stay with your granddaddy" (Remus) "and your grandpapa" (Sirius) "and be good for me, okay?"

"Okay, Papa," Ivy agreed as she was passed over to Remus's waiting arms.

"We'll take good care of her," Remus assured.

Knowing they would, Severus rushed to the room he shared with Harry. He could smell his mate's heat before he even got within sight of the door. He went inside quickly. He'd never been so glad to see his mate… whose bond with him had been broken. He shoved down a deep feeling of emptiness at the thought; they would fix that later. There were more immediate needs to be taken care of. "Sev," Harry moaned, knowing immediately when Severus entered the room.

"I'm right here. I'm going to look after you," Severus promised. As he got closer to Harry, the smell of blood reached his nostrils. "You're hurt," he said, hesitating. Should he patch him up first, or take care of the first wave of Harry's heat? At least he hoped it was the first wave. If it wasn't the first wave, that would mean that Nathaniel had forcefully knotted him, and that was not alright.

"That's not what's killing me right now. I need you so bad. It hurts. Please take care of this first, then you can patch me up, okay?"

"Okay," Severus agreed, suddenly speeding up and practically tearing his clothes off in his haste.

* * *

Sirius, Remus, Ivy, Draco, and Hermione all went outside once Severus had gotten upstairs. They weren't sure if Severus would have the presence of mind to use silencing charms – Harry certainly wouldn't – and none of them wanted to be in earshot of their activities. "Do you think you could remember where exactly you found them and take us back?" Sirius asked Draco.

"I should be able to," Draco answered. "Do you want to go now?"

"Yes. I want to make sure that Nathaniel doesn't get away with this. I don't want him anywhere near Remus, though. Are you okay with staying here?" he asked his mate, just to make sure.

"Yeah. I'll look after Ivy while you're gone. Perhaps it would be best if Hermione stayed here as well."

"I can agree to that," Hermione said readily. She wasn't really interested in going to a place where Harry and his pup had been held prisoner.

"Alright, let's go," Sirius said, moving closer to Draco. Draco took his arm and was about to apparate when he was stopped by Remus.

"Wait!" he said quickly. "Don't do anything to Nathaniel. I know you want to Sirius, but give Severus the chance. As much as I know we both want him dead, Severus deserves enacting vengeance more than any of us do."

"Very well, I will do my best," Sirius agreed, knowing he couldn't actually promise for sure he wouldn't maim the person who hurt two valuable members of his family... He soon found himself on a little-used road in an unfamiliar area. "Is this the place you found them?" he asked Draco.

"Yeah," Draco said. "They were coming from that direction," he said, pointing.

"Okay, then," Sirius said, heading in the direction of Draco's pointed finger. They walked quite a distance in tense silence before Sirius saw a very recognizable house on the side of the road. "They were here," he said, drawing his wand carefully as he approached the house whose likeness had been captured in Nathaniel's basement, noticing Draco do the same. The door to the cabin was unlocked, so they entered, though with much trepidation.

It wasn't hard to figure out that the door they should next open was the one that looked like the door to a prison cell. Sirius led the way and saw the figure who was frozen on the floor in the room. He recognized him as Nathaniel at once. "Look who it is," he said. "I guess Harry got the best of you, huh?" He lifted the body-bind, hoping that the other man would attack him and give him an even better reason to cause him immense pain, but he simply stayed down, seeming to know he was beaten. "Got nothing to say for yourself, then?" Sirius asked, challenging him.

"Maybe I don't want to say anything that might incriminate me in court," Nathaniel said with a sneer.

"Hm, how wise of you to be so cautious, and yet you're so foolish enough to think you'll actually survive that long. Surely you realize your mistakes? You knowingly kidnapped an alpha's mate and pup. You'll be lucky if he doesn't kill you. He'd be well within his legal rights, after what you've done. Not just him though – you've got me to deal with. You took my pup and my grand pup. To add to it, you've taken the cub of a werewolf. That is very dangerous indeed. No, I don't think you'll ever see the inside of a court room. As a matter of fact, you won't see anything other than this room for a while. I think I'm going to leave you here, where you were going to leave Harry, until Severus Snape has a chance to deal with you personally. I think he quite deserves it, don't you?" That being said, Sirius levitated Nathaniel onto the bed. The other man could do very little to stop the movement. Sirius bound the man's ankles and wrists to the bed so he would be unable to move. "Speaking of deserving things…" Sirius mused thoughtfully before sending a spell at the other man.

"What have you done?" Nathaniel gasped in pain.

"I've used a certain spell that causes you to feel all the pain you have inflicted on another human in the last week. You don't have any real injuries, so there's no risk of you dying of something as silly as an infection, but you'll feel every bit of the pain that Harry is feeling right now. Someone will be back in three days to give you a bit of water and clean whatever mess you might make of yourself. Have fun." After that parting comment, Sirius left the room, locked the door behind him, and left the house with Draco.

* * *

After the first wave of Harry's heat had passed, he felt much more in his right mind. He also felt more pain, because there wasn't an overwhelming _need_ overshadowing it anymore. Severus hastily summoned his medical kit and set about healing Harry's wounds. He started with his back, which looked excruciating. He healed as much as he could and bandaged what was left. He then took a look at Harry's hand, holding it gently in his own. He felt himself freeze when he heard Harry softly say, "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for?" Severus asked him.

"Sev, look at me," Harry said miserably. "I let him get the best of me. I've fought much worse than him, and yet I let him take me and our daughter away from here and I didn't stop him from hurting me. I barely got away before he—before he r—raped me, and our bond is b—broken." Harry was high-strung from the combination of his heat and the terrifying experience of being kidnapped by his abusive ex-alpha, and he found himself shaking as tears left his eyes.

"Come here," Severus said, gently pulling Harry into his arms. "I need you to listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. None of that is your fault. Nathaniel is obviously very stupid or else he would not have interfered with my family, but he is also a skilled wizard. You were facing him on your own, and your pup's life seemed to be in danger. He is a man who tormented and abused you, so it could not have been easy to be in the same room as him. It would have been unlikely indeed if you had managed to overpower him in the beginning. You are hardly responsible for the fact that he caused you pain, and there is no need for you to apologize for that. You did fight back, and you did, somehow, manage to successfully escape before he could rape you again. The fact of the matter is, though, that if he had succeeded it would not have been your fault in the slightest. There is not a single thing you could have done beyond what you did.

"As for our bond, there is yet again no call for an apology from you or anyone else whose name is not Nathaniel Morgan. You didn't cause that to happen, and it can be mended again. We just need to find a person who can officiate a bonding ceremony. I need you to understand that there is absolutely nothing in this world that you ought to apologize for."

"I think I understand, now," Harry said quietly, feeling quite small.

"Alright, in that case let me take care of your hand while we have a break. I'm afraid it will take some time to heal, but I can speed the process as well as limit the pain."

"Thank you," Harry said.

"I'm happy to do it. I just wish it wasn't necessary."

Sev worked in silence for some time. Harry was feeling more and more like he was going to need Severus to get busy with _other_ _activities_ , but he could wait for the time being. Watching as the alpha cared for him with all the gentleness and kindness one might see a man use with a newborn bird who was as delicate as china, Harry became awash with emotions. "I love you so much, Sev."

"I love you, too, my Harry," Severus said tenderly.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he was nearly being devoured by his omega.

* * *

 ** _AN: Thanks for reading! And thank you for all the helpful reviews regarding what should be done to Severus. That is still yet to come in full. And to anyone who has recently graduated: Congratulations! I can't wait to join you in a couple of years..._**


	6. Revenge

**_AN: I'm so sorry about the long wait. It was due to technical difficulties, so I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me. I am going to try to give you one more chapter today to make up for it. Not to mention, this chapter also includes some time spent between vengeful Severus Snape and cowering Nathaniel Morgan :)  
_**

 ** _Thanks to everyone who sent me suggestions about what to do with Nathaniel. There was one in particular which was very popular, and it is coming. ;)_**

* * *

Harry's heat ended a few days earlier than normal, which was a little concerning. He checked, and he wasn't pregnant again so that couldn't be the reason. Severus suggested it might be caused by what he had just gone through. Harry agreed readily enough. After getting washed and checking on what was left of Harry's injuries, Severus and Harry apparated to Sirius and Remus's house where they knew Ivy was, along with two very concerned parents.

As soon as they were inside, they heard Ivy call out, "Daddy! Papa! You're here!" before she ran to them. They both knelt down so they could each wrap an arm around her as she wrapped one arm around each of their necks. Sev realized then full-force just how much he had missed his little girl over the past several days. Once Harry had risen to his feet, still a little too tired to be kneeling comfortably for long, Severus stood as well but with his daughter in his arms, holding her as tightly as he could without harming her.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus had waited patiently for Harry to finish greeting his own pup before he turned to them. He quickly gave the two of them the same treatment Ivy had given him and Sev. He inhaled their scents, and they did likewise. "We were so worried about you," Remus murmured.

"I know," Harry said softly. "Sorry to worry you."

"Don't apologize for this, pup," Sirius said firmly.

"Yeah, Sev keeps telling me the same thing," Harry admitted.

"Well, you should listen. The man's not a complete idiot, after all," Sirius said with a smile in his voice.

"Not that we're complaining," Remus said as the five of them moved to get more comfortable in the sitting room, "but aren't you back a bit early?"

"Yeah, we are," Harry said. "It ended early for some reason. We haven't figured out for sure why yet. I'm not pregnant again. Sev says it may have something to do with what's happened. That's sort of what we're going to assume for now."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Remus asked them, knowing there were some adjustments to be made.

"We haven't really discussed it, yet," Harry said hesitantly.

"I know one thing we are certainly going to do as soon as we can," Severus said. "We're going to re-form our bond." Harry knew it was going to happen, but somehow hearing Sev say it out loud made him feel a little more secure. He'd had a small, niggling doubt in the back of his mind telling him that Severus might be alright without having a bond. It seemed as though, with Nathaniel, all of Harry's past insecurities were coming back to him. Hopefully he would be able to move on without causing damage to either his relationship with Severus or his pup. He would talk to Severus about starting to see Ethan again once they were alone.

Unaware of Harry's thoughts, Severus continued. "I would also very much like to have a… conversation with Nathaniel."

"That can be arranged," Sirius said, nearly growling. "I had Draco take me to where he saw Harry, and we found the house, with Nathaniel in it. We left him tied down and with a certain spell on him."

"What spell would that be?" Severus asked in a tone that hinted at basic curiosity, though he was burning with a desire to know any pain Nathaniel might be experiencing.

"Oh, nothing much. It just makes him feel every bit of pain he's caused anyone in the last week. I've always found it quite useful," Sirius said with an air of nonchalance.

"Very nice," Severus agreed. He would be going there as soon as he knew his family were alright.

"If I may offer a suggestion for your next course of action?" Remus asked.

"Of course," Harry said.

"Ron and Hermione were quite worried about all of you. If you can find an opportunity, it would be a good idea to pay them a visit."

"Indeed," Severus said. "Would you like to go ahead and do that now, Harry?" he asked.

"Sure," Harry agreed before giving both Sirius and Remus very tight hugs, taking Ivy's hand, and apparating with Severus to Ron and Hermione's front porch.

Once Severus had spent some time conversing with Ron and Hermione, he pulled Harry aside in the hallway. "I need you to be perfectly honest with me, Harry. Will you be okay if I go take care of Nathaniel? If it's too soon, and you won't want me to leave, then I'll understand. I don't much fancy leaving you, but the alpha in me is chomping at the bit to do something to that man."

"I understand, Severus," Harry said, using the man's full name to let him know he meant it. "I'm not ready to be on my own, but I can handle a little separation from you, as long as you're back within an hour. Since you don't know where it is, you'll have to find out from Sirius, so why don't you take me with you when you go back over there and I can stay there with Ivy while I wait for you. Nothing against Ron and Hermione, but they're just my friends and I think I'd feel safer at my parents' house."

"Of course. Are you ready to go now?"

"Yes, but first I need you to promise me something?"

"Yes?"

"We'll have some time to ourselves later today. There are definitely things that need to be discussed, and the sooner, the better."

"I promise," Severus said sincerely. They bid their good-byes to that branch of the Weasley clan before going back to Harry's teen-hood home. "Take me to him," Severus told Sirius once they had arrived.

"Now?" Sirius asked with a glance at Harry.

"Yes. We've discussed this, and agreed on it, so now."

"I'll stay here with Harry and Ivy," Remus said. The two alphas nodded before Sirius apparated them to the front door of the cabin Harry had been held prisoner in.

Severus could already smell traces of his mate in the house as soon as they crossed the threshold. He braced himself, knowing that this was going to be difficult. He had decided not to kill Nathaniel. That would not undo what had been done to his mate. He would make him suffer, make him fear for his life, and then turn him over to the authorities. The punishment for Nathaniel's crimes would be very heavy, and that knowledge would likely be the only thing that would keep Severus from killing the man and ending his miserable existence.

"Hello, Nathaniel," he said coldly when he entered the room Nathaniel was tied down in. "How are you feeling at the moment?"

"Horrible, no thanks to you. Now let me up. I've had quite enough of this."

"No, I don't think I will let you up just yet," Severus said. "You hurt my mate, and I don't appreciate that in the least. I'm going to make sure you never do so again." Apparently the spell Sirius had put on Nathaniel wasn't quite enough, because Nathaniel was still much too brazen for Severus's liking. "You know, there is a very fortunate law in place that makes allowances for circumstances in which one's mate has been hurt by another. It makes it permissible for me to use unforgivable curses on you. Isn't that interesting?" Without another thought, Severus cast the Cruciatus on the man lying before him, though only briefly. He had plans that required Nathaniel be conscious and aware of his body's pain.

Sirius watched on silently. He had no idea how far Severus was planning to go, exactly, but he wasn't going to step in no matter what happened. He was sure Severus could handle the situation. Even if he didn't have that conviction, he knew to stay out of the way. It was a very foolish man who got in the way of an alpha getting retribution for a hurt omega.

As Sirius watched, Severus tore off a piece of Nathaniel's shirt and transfigured it into a pair of rusty, blunt-looking pliers. The look of fear that filled Nathaniel's eyes was satisfying, even though Sirius wasn't quite sure what Severus had planned yet.

Severus chuckled as Nathaniel shook with terror. "You know what I have planned, don't you?" he asked coolly. "And you know I will make it hurt as much as I possibly can. I had thought about doing this with a hex, but that wouldn't have caused near as much pain as this will."

"You'll regret this, Snape," Nathaniel spat at him, as if he hadn't been shaking moments ago. It was slightly irksome the way Nathaniel would be fearful, then revert back to shouting insults and making demands and threats.

"A likely story, considering I have the law on my side. No, this is going to cause regret for you. Do you know why I am doing this? Do you truly know? I have a feeling you're too thick to understand, so I will take the liberty of spelling it out for you. You hurt my mate because you could. You forced him to do horrible things against his will, and you made him feel miserable. You were a selfish bastard – still are, I'm sure – and you never cared about him. All you ever wanted from Harry was children, and when he wasn't providing them, you made his life a living hell until you finally kicked him out at the risk of driving him to insanity.

"I care very deeply about my family, and you have hurt them. I will not let that go unpunished. Because of all the trouble you have caused, because of your arrogance, because of your insistence that it was Harry's fault you weren't a father, I am going to rob you of the ability to ever have children of your own whom you would likely hurt just as you hurt my pup and my mate."

Sirius couldn't find it within himself to feel sorry for what was happening to the man laid out before them. He more than deserved what was coming to him. Sirius normally wouldn't have condoned such… barbaric torture on another person, but when an alpha's family is involved, especially if the portion of that family happens to involve an omega, a protective instinct is evoked in an alpha that makes them want to maim beyond what they might normally find acceptable. You never hurt an omega that an alpha cares about.

Severus ignored the screams of the man on the bed as he crudely castrated him with a rusty pair of pliers. That. . . _monster_ would never mess with Harry again, that was a certainty. By the time he had finished, Nathaniel had lost all sense of dignity and was pleading for relief, for Severus to stop, for anything. His cries fell on ears made deaf by righteous anger.

The scene playing out in front of Sirius reminded him just how dark and cruel Severus had the capacity to be after his days as a Death Eater. He was further reminded by what Severus did next. He began to speak coldly and evenly to Nathaniel. "I thought long and hard about killing you," he told him. "I have decided against it, though. I want you to have plenty of time to regret what you have done to my family. I am still going to ensure that you are never able to hurt my family again, though. In order to do that, I am going to turn you over to the Ministry of Magic for the crimes you have committed. Before doing so, however, I am going to use a spell on you. I developed it myself. I have yet to use it on someone – I was saving it, and this seems the perfect time to see how well the spell works. Shall we try it?" Severus then pointed his wand at Nathaniel and muttered a long incantation Sirius couldn't quite catch.

Sirius was surprised when, instead of seeing a light leave Severus's wand in a stream of color, a strange, sickly yellow began to exude from Nathaniel's body, giving the air around his body an eerie glow before it dissipated completely. Sirius couldn't figure out what had been done, but he took note of the satisfied look on Severus's face and the look of horror on Nathaniel's. "What have you done?!" Nathaniel demanded.

Severus's face changed from containing a look satisfaction to a sneer of disgust. "I've robbed you of your magic. It's only fair, don't you think, after all the times you forcibly stole it from Harry? You deserve as much. Besides, how am I to be certain you will leave my family alone if there is any possibility you can hurt them? I eliminate that chance by taking your very magic from your body." After his explanation, Severus took the opportunity to put Nathaniel under the Cruciatus for a full minute, before relenting for a minute, and putting him back under it again for 10 minutes.

By the time he was done, Nathaniel looked thoroughly haggard, worn, and terrified, and for once that look didn't go away. "What are you going to do to me now?" he asked shakily.

"Now? Now I am going to release you. . ." Severus paused and waited as he saw Nathaniel sag to the bed in relief. he smiled wickedly before he continued, ripping apart the small vestiges of Nathaniel's hope. ". . .at the Ministry of Magic. I will inform them of what you did, and my resulting actions, and then I will smile as they sentence you, without any unnecessary processing, to a life spent in Azkaban, where you will slowly deteriorate under the influence of the Dementors, losing all happiness, all hope, all sanity, and then your life. I do hope you live a very long time so that you can contemplate the harsh punishment you are receiving and wallow in misery for an exponentially longer time than you ever put anyone else in misery."

* * *

 ** _AN: Next chapter should be up within 2 hours unless something goes wrong. Thanks for sticking around!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_AN: It just occurred to me that a small timeline about what happened to Harry and when isn't a bad idea._**

 ** _Harry meet Nathaniel - age 21_**

 ** _Harry is kicked out - age 23_**

 ** _Harry and Severus mate - age 24 or 25_**

 ** _Harry gives birth to Ivy - age 26_**

 ** _Now - age 30_**

* * *

Ivy went to bed early that night, saying she was tired. Harry and Severus had no objection to that and once their daughter was settled down, the two of them sat together on a settee in the sitting room. Harry curled up against Sev's side, and his alpha put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "How are you feeling?" Severus asked softly.

"Not too bad," Harry answered truthfully. (He had decided he didn't want to know what Sev had done to Nathaniel.) "There are some things I need to talk to you about, though."

"Go on," Severus said before tightening his arms around Harry, who relaxed into him further.

"First of all, I just thought it might help if I mentioned to you that the whole part where we don't technically have a bond right now is killing me. I miss being able to feel you like that. Even though you're right next to me, I can still tell that something is just missing, and it's horrible when you aren't with me, like earlier today. That was harder than I expected."

"I know, Harry. I feel the same. Perhaps you would like to remedy that tomorrow?"

"Please," Harry said. "There are two more things I can think of right now that we need to talk about. The first is that, I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that it might be wise for me to go back to having sessions with Ethan again. I'm having a little trouble dealing with this already, and it's sure to get worse if I don't get a handle on it. I know that you're going to help, as will the rest of my family and friends, but there's quite a bit at stake here, especially with Ivy…"

"Harry," Severus cut in, "I have no problem with you seeking professional help if that is what you need. I want you to heal from this, and I am not ashamed to admit that I am not perfect and cannot quite provide the help that a professional can."

"Thanks for understanding, Sev," Harry whispered.

"Always, Harry," Severus said with a tender kiss to Harry's hair.

"You sure are saying my name a lot," Harry teased.

"Yes, well, suffice it to say that I missed being able to say it to you," Severus intoned softly.

Harry didn't address that comment, knowing that any further attention being paid to that small admission would make Sev uncomfortable. "Then there's the other thing. If you don't agree, we can talk about it. I think I want to start taking suppressants again, but maybe just for now. I want to be able to look after the pup we have now as much as possible. As it stands, we both have to take a break one week per month. That's a fourth of the time. She's only going to be young for so long. I'm fine with her going to spend time with her grandparents or her aunts and uncles every now and again, but not for so long and so often. I'm not exactly dying to have any more pups at the present, and you haven't really mentioned wanting any lately. If we change our minds, I can always just get off the suppressants. But if you'd rather I not take them and have valid reasoning, then I'll listen to your side."

"Harry, it is perfectly fine if you do not want to have any other pups ever again. Although I love Ivy more than I can put into words, and can no more imagine life without her than I can life without you, I would have been happy with you even if we never had one pup. All I ask is that I am not separated from the family I have. I have no requirements regarding building on it. You have some very good points and I agree with you. I will check tomorrow to make sure I have some on hand, and if not I can brew some in a timely manner."

"Okay, Sev," Harry agreed.

"Is there anything else you wished to discuss?" Harry only shook his head. "Very well. Now, I don't know about you, but I am currently very tired. How does bed sound?"

"Beautiful," Harry said with feeling.

* * *

The following day, they re-formed their bond as planned. To the surprise of them both, the renewing of their bond ended the pain in the back of Harry's hand. Both Harry and Severus felt unspeakably better to feel the invisible connection rebuild between the two of them, and they both secretly thought it felt a bit stronger than it had only a week ago. Harry got in touch with Ethan, who said he would be happy to start seeing Harry again. They set up appointments for every other week, because they both agreed that would probably be all Harry would need. The first would be the following day.

Aside from attending to these matters, Harry and Severus spent the day with their daughter, making sure she was truly alright and wasn't suffering any negative effects from her ordeal. It seemed she hadn't understood much of what had happened, and she knew her daddy was okay now so she didn't really feel she had anything to dwell on. Both of her fathers were relieved, though they knew they should still keep two eyes out for nightmares and the like, just to be sure.

Harry did encounter some issues in that his magic wasn't behaving properly. He'd been walking out of a room when he remembered he'd left a book on the coffee table. Instead of having to walk all the way across the room, he simply summoned it to him – or at least he tried to. Instead of the book landing neatly in his hand as it normally would, it hit him square in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him, before his eyes even registered movement. Later, when he was trying to help Sev cook dinner, his warming charm nearly caught the house on fire and his Aguamenti nearly flooded the kitchen before a slightly concerned, nearly amused Sev stepped in. "You alright?" he'd asked softly.

"I think so," Harry had replied. Throughout the day, the little spells Harry might use for everyday life all went slightly wrong. It was beginning to concern him and he really wished he could get a good handle on it. As he went to bed that night, he began to wonder if it might be a good idea to take a break from magic until everything calmed down a bit more. This was proved to be a useless idea during the night. . .

Harry was thrown into a nightmare that involved a lot of Nathaniel and very little Severus. Severus managed to wake him up, but not before every piece of glass in the room was shattered by Harry in his sleep. Was he out of control? It certainly seemed like it. "I'm sorry," he murmured to Severus.

"Don't be," Sev objected. "It's nothing a little Reparo won't solve. Would you like to talk about whatever it was you dreamt?"

"No. Can you just hold me?"

"Of course."

* * *

The next day was Harry's scheduled session with Ethan. It wasn't until the afternoon, though. Harry had decided to spend the morning with Sev in their apothecary. It was a great idea, until Harry apparated into the building and splinched himself. Severus had been extremely attentive in healing the skin on his right arm. It healed quickly enough, but it worried Harry. He'd never splinched before, not even when he was still a beginner at apparating. Throughout the day more accidents kept on happening that told Harry his magic was off, and he was worried. He didn't want to worry his mate, though, so he kept quiet, though he knew Sev could sense his inner turmoil.

"Harry, how are you?" Ethan asked when Harry came to his office later.

"I'm not sure," Harry sighed. He went on to explain what had been going on over the past few days, and he watched as the expression on Ethan's face changed from thoughtful to the expression of a man who's come to an idea.

"Harry, I feel I know the answer already, but I need you to tell me. How much do you trust Severus?"

"As much as anyone can trust another person, I suppose," Harry said. "I tell him everything, even if it takes me a bit of time to figure out how to do it sometimes. I know he does everything he can to protect me, but he still manages not to smother me. He always seems to know what I need, often before I even talk to him about something. He knows me better than anyone, even Sirius and Remus, at this point in time. He's one of the best things that's ever happened to me, even if I didn't know it when I was in school. That's another thing, too. Back when we were at Hogwarts and acted like the worst of enemies, he was still trying to keep me safe even then. He'd rather die than hurt me, I'm sure, and he's willing to kill anyone who does hurt me."

"I'm glad to hear it," Ethan said. "That makes this proposition easier. I know you're aware of this, but may I remind you that after an alpha and omega bond, the alpha has the ability to bind the omega's magic. In other words, Severus could 'put a lid on' your magic, so to speak. That would keep you from being able to use it, even accidentally, until you've calmed down and Severus let it go. Would you feel comfortable with asking him to do that, and would you feel safe if he did that? Keep in mind it would make you completely unable to use magic at all, even to defend yourself if something were to happen and you were attacked somehow, though I'm sure Severus would protect you more than adequately."

"I—how long would this be for, do you think?"

"Well, I think that's something you and Severus would need to discuss. I don't think it's something I can really set a time on. I can give you some tentative guidelines if you'd like?"

"That'd be great," Harry told him.

"Well, if you and Severus do agree on this, I would recommend that you both check in on each other about it. You should keep him updated on whether or not you still feel secure without your usual control of your magic and whether or not you feel you could control your magic again. When one or both of you feel ready, or don't want to continue for one reason or another, that's when I recommend you lift the bind on your magic. Of course, this is all up to you and you certainly don't even have to ask him if you don't really want to do this, but you could at the very least give it a trial run of no more than an hour if you discuss with him it and are both unsure."

"That sounds like it could be a good solution," Harry said. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me. You are paying me for this, after all," Ethan said good-naturedly.


	8. Conclusion

**_AN: So, I dropped a note (that I'm about to delete) in the reviews, but in case you haven't read it, I have an explanation. My laptop quit once, and I got it fixed. Then, after giving a small update of 2 chapters, my computer crashed again, this time for good. The guy I took it to said that it would cost more money than it was worth to fix it. So I had to cut my losses (as in, half the stories I've written in the last 3 years) and get a new laptop. I quite like it, but I've got my work cut out for me now. I had finished this story, and I know what happened, but I'm not going to be able to get it down quite so succinctly again, I'm afraid, as some details are fuzzy. I'm afraid I'm going to be wrapping things up for this story. The good news is that I have a few ideas brewing (that I did not have stored on my old computer, thankfully) for another story in this series.  
_**

* * *

As Severus and Harry enjoyed some tea by the fire that night, Harry broached the topic he'd been brooding over for the last several hours. "Sev? I need to talk to you about something," he said, looking up at his mate from where he was leaning against his solid chest.

"Of course, go ahead," Severus replied, glad that he was finally going to find out what had been bothering his omega all afternoon.

"I don't know if you've noticed or not, but my magic has been. . . off since Nathaniel took me. I mean, you saw me splinch, and that was after I nearly caught the house on fire and then almost flooded our kitchen. I also tried to use Accio and got the breath knocked out of me by a book. Then there was my nightmare, that accidental magic, which means I can't just stop using magic altogether. I spoke with Ethan, and he sort of suggested something I already suspected in the back of my mind that we needed to do. He said we should use the whole thing where an alpha can bind his omega's magic. I think it would do us all some good if I could just take a break from magic, and I trust you to keep me safe if I'm ever placed in harm's way and to let me have control back when I'm ready."

Severus stayed silent for a long time, mulling over what Harry had said. His immediate thought was wonderment that his mate truly did trust him that much, because he knew that Harry had very bad memories from the last time his magic had been bound. He knew Harry truly thought he needed this if he was volunteering for it. He also knew that Harry had a good point. It was dangerous for a wizard of Harry's strength not to have any control over his magic. He could hurt himself or Ivy without ever meaning to, and neither prospect was appealing to Severus. Harry was right. This would be good for them, and of course it would only be temporary.

"I believe that this would be best," Severus said. "Would you like me to do this now?"

"If you would, that would make me feel better."

"Then by all means, we will do so now." Severus nudged Harry, who stood up to face Severus, who was also standing now. "Your hand?" Harry offered his left hand, which Severus took in his own left hand. Circling his wand over where their hands were joined, Severus muttered an incantation that was loosely translated from Latin to mean 'I bind this magic by the ancient forces.' A chill swept over Harry as his control left him, and both he and Severus watched as a silvery mist seemed to exude from Harry's body.

"Thank you," Harry murmured.

"You do not need to thank me. I am happy to do anything for you, my Harry. Now, it is getting late and you seem tired. Shall we retire for the evening?"

"Sounds sublime," Harry said, making Sev chuckle.

* * *

Things went fine that night and the next day, until they got a surprise visit from Sirius and Remus, which wasn't all that uncommon. Sirius and Remus were happy to give the Snapes their space, understanding it was needed at times. However, they did visit at least every other week and rarely called ahead. So Harry wasn't too shocked when he heard a knock on the door after dinner that night and opened it to see his parents on the other side. "Hey, come on in," he welcomed them. "Have you already eaten?"

"Yes, have you?" Sirius asked.

"Just finished. How does tea sound?"

"Perfect," Remus answered enthusiastically.

Harry led them in through to the living room, where Severus already had some tea. He easily summoned two more cups and filled them with the dark liquid from the pot. "Sirius, Remus, how are you?" he asked.

"Fine, how about yourself?" Sirius replied.

"Alright. Have a seat."

The four of them talked amicably about nothing of import until long after Ivy had kissed them all goodnight. Things continued to go well until Remus arched his brow in an expression Harry knew to mean that the man had come to a dubious conclusion and was waiting for confirmation of the facts. Harry wasn't sure what was going on through Remus's mind, but he decided it didn't much matter. He'd learned long ago not to question those looks. All it ever got him was a glare that they would both feel bad for later.

Severus had just banished the tea service back to kitchen in preamble to sending their guests home when Remus suddenly rose angrily and pulled Severus to his feet by his collar. Remus may have been an omega, and Severus an alpha, but it mattered little to comparing their strength due to the fact that Remus was a werewolf and also, at the time, thought his cub was in danger. Severus didn't bother trying to fight Remus's grip - he knew from experience that it would only strengthen at the useless attempt.

"Remus?" Harry questioned, standing up as well as Sirius.

"How could you do such a thing?" Remus demanded of Severus, ignoring Harry in favor of getting his face closer to Severus's.

"I'm not sure I quite catch your meaning," Severus said hesitantly.

"Don't think I haven't noticed. Harry normally uses his magic as much as you do when it comes to the everyday tasks. I haven't seen him perform one simple spell since we arrived. It's quite obvious that you've bound his magic and now I want to know how and why you could and would do such a thing!"

"Is this true?" Sirius asked, looking just as murderous as his mate now.

"There is a perfectly reasonable explanation," Severus said calmly.

"I want to hear it from Harry," Sirius said with false calmness.

"After what happened," Harry began, "I was having trouble with my magic. I splinched myself, nearly caught the house on fire, and had a few bouts of accidental magic. I talked with my therapist and with Sev and we all agreed that it would be best if we put my magic on hold to give me time to recover without having to worry about accidentally killing someone when dinner plans go wrong. It wasn't his idea, and we're in agreement that as soon as I say the word, I get control back. I just can't handle that right now, so Sev is helping me out by doing that for me. Alright?"

Remus immediately let go of Severus. "My apologies, but the thought that..."

"You thought your cub was in danger. I do not blame you. I am glad you are so protective of him. It means that I won't ever be able to inadvertently hurt him, because you won't let me, just as you won't allow anyone else to."

Remus simply nodded. They fell back into easy conversation for the next 20 minutes before Sirius and Remus finally left for their own home.

* * *

The next months were spent with Harry making steady trips to have sessions with Ethan, though the frequency gradually dwindled down to once a month. After two months, Harry felt he was ready to take back control of his magic, only he wanted to do it a little at a time. So he took back control for an hour, without using any spells. Then he did an hour and a half two days later, then three hours in another two days. After a week, he tried for 10 hours and performed one Accio and one Alohomora successfully. After one month he had control back 24/7 and was using spells as normal. Ethan was guiding him on how to reach normalcy, and Severus held his hand and covered his back along the way, and his friends and family offered their silent support. Throughout it all, Harry was reminded that despite everything he'd been through to date, so long as he had people surrounding him who cared about him, he could survive it, and not only survive, but enjoy life.

 **The End**

* * *

 ** _AN: Yeah, I've long since accepted I'm crappy at endings, but I just can't handle going through re-writing the last several chapters I had. You've got the gist of what was in the original ending. I hope it didn't completely suck. Until the next story..._**


End file.
